"Hello? Hello! Where are you now? I can help you, I can help you! "
Chen Ge screamed into the phone, but the only answer he got was the sound of the fire burning.
Calm down, I have to calm down!
He gripped the phone tightly, kicked the door open, and raced toward the tallest office building at the theme park.
He ran as fast as he could to the top of the building. He stood at the highest point of the theme park and looked down at Jiujiang.
The lights were bright, the traffic was busy, but there was no fire.
However, there was fire on the other end of the phone, and the sound of crackling kept coming.
The fire had spread.
"Hello, I don't know whether you can hear me or not, but I just want to tell you that I can help you. There are still people in this world who are willing to help you."
The electricity crackled like the fire had burned through the phone line. There was no message, and the call was cut off.
Hearing the busy tone on the other end, Chen Ge's heart felt suffocated.
The author's last paragraph was probably about his own fantasy. His perseverance had not been rewarded, and after his dream collapsed, his mental state had probably gone haywire.
Holding the railing at the edge of the building, Chen Ge looked into the distance.
A few minutes later, he dialed the number again with a glimmer of hope. He knew it was unlikely, but he still wanted to give it a try.
The busy tone rang in his ears for who knew how long.
Chen Ge sighed softly. Just as he was about to hang up, the call was suddenly connected.
"Hello."
It was a completely unfamiliar voice that came from the other end.
Did I call the wrong number?
Chen Ge looked at the number subconsciously. All the numbers were correct, but the sound of fire had disappeared, and the phone was so quiet that it was suffocating.
It was the same number, but a different voice. Chen Ge calmed down and thought back to the introduction of this number on the black phone. The police discovered that every victim had called this number at the last moment of their lives.
There was more than one victim!
After realizing this, Chen Ge quickly collected his emotions and adjusted his tone. "Hello, how can I help you?"
Without understanding the situation and not knowing what had happened to the man, that was all Chen Ge could say.
"Help me? No, thank you. "The voice on the other side of the phone was a little weak, as if he was about to fall asleep.
"You don't look well." For some reason, Chen Ge felt unsettled. The man's calmness reminded him of the author from earlier. "Can you tell me where you are now? If you want to find someone to talk to, I can go over right away. "
"There's not enough time." The man spoke very slowly. "If you really want to help me, can you tell my landlord before you hang up the phone that the utility bills are in the suitcase?"
"Landlord? Then how do I contact him? " Listening to the man's tone, Chen Ge felt that he was making arrangements for his funeral. He wanted to know the man's current position, and the landlord was a good breakthrough.
"She lives in the residential area to the left of the Fairytale Kingdom Theme Park, on the first floor of the sixth building." The man's voice was weak, as if speaking was a very strenuous thing for him.
"Fairytale Kingdom?" The location of the theme park flashed across Chen Ge's mind. It was built in Southern Jiujiang. It was a children's theme park, but due to some reason, it had been closed down. "Do you have her number? I'm afraid I won't be able to find her. "
Chen Ge walked down the stairs. He planned to go to Southern Jiujiang to take a look.
A life was at stake, so he did not hang up. Instead, he tried his best to calm the man down. "From your voice, it sounds like you're very sleepy. Didn't you sleep well last night?"
"I haven't had a good night's sleep for a long time." The man smiled. "I don't know why. I'm so carefree in the morning, but at night, I'll think about random things. I toss and turn, but I can't sleep."
"I understand your pain. I can't sleep at night, and I often wander outside at three or four in the morning." Chen Ge could empathize with the man, and he was telling the truth.
The man seemed to find resonance in Chen Ge's sincere tone. "Do you have insomnia as well?"
"Yes, my parents disappeared half a year ago, and we haven't found any clues. I live in pain and anxiety every day. I can only rely on helping others to find some comfort in my heart." At this point, Chen Ge's tone changed. "But I will continue to look for them. When I find them, I will tell them loudly about my anger and worry, and then I will run to them and hug them tightly."
"I hope you can find them soon." The man's tone softened, but his condition worsened like he could faint at any moment.
"Can you tell me more about yourself? Just treat me like a stranger passing by." Chen Ge saw that it was about time, so he asked tentatively.
"My life is very boring." The man thought about it and said those words.
"Life is boring to begin with. It's mainly because different people give it different meanings, and that's why it's not so boring." Chen Ge had already run out of the office and headed out of the theme park.
"Perhaps. My birth was an accident. It was my father who took care of me since I was young. He worked hard for a small salary, and he was like a random person on the street — very normal." The man's voice slowly lowered, but the speed of his speech did not change much.
"I was very weak since I was young, and I gave him a lot of trouble. After I went to school, I was in a state where I didn't fit in. I always thought I was stupid, and I couldn't do anything well. I couldn't focus, and no one liked to be my friend. " The man took a deep breath. He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "At first, the teacher only thought that there was something wrong with my personality. I thought so too. One day, the teacher called my dad to school, and they suggested that I go see a doctor."
"See a doctor?"
"Yes, the diagnosis was Nobita -Fat Tiger Syndrome. It's a very interesting name. When I first heard it, I thought it was quite interesting." The man smiled, but there was no happiness in his voice.
This was the first time Chen Ge had heard of this illness. Nobita -Fat Tiger seemed to be a character from some comic. "What are the specific symptoms of this illness?"
"It's a collective term for mental disorders like ADHD and ADD. Nobita represents ADD, which is the illness that I suffer from."
"At the time, I knew nothing about this illness. When I returned to school, my classmates only knew that I had this illness, but they didn't try to understand it. Actually, sometimes, they just need a reason to isolate you, and having a mental illness is a very good excuse. "
When the man said that, he was very calm like compared to what happened later, it was nothing.
"After high school, I stopped studying because I felt like I had wronged my father. I found many jobs, but they were all fired because of my personality. I became afraid of meeting people, and my illness worsened. In the end, it turned into severe depression, and I was sent to the Mental Illness Correctional Center.
"At the time, I was in my early twenties. Not only was I unable to help my father, I was like a leech that sucked blood, dragging him down.
"In that situation, I thought about it for a long time and decided to leave.
"I posted the last words that I wanted to tell my father online, and I set it to be posted at a fixed time." The man sighed deeply. "If I had left that day, perhaps nothing would have happened."
"Don't even think that! You have to be alive to have everything! "Chen Ge had already gotten into the taxi, and he had the driver drive to Southern Jiujiang as soon as possible.
"I was saved, but when I was unconscious, the words that I posted at the fixed time were made public.
"This was the first time that I had received so much concern, and it made me feel like I was in awe.
After I recovered, I went online to clear my name. I'm sorry for the trouble, but I'm fine.
Many people consoled me, saying that I was fine, but I also saw some private messages.
"Why aren't you dead yet?
"Why are you still alive?
"I'm still waiting for someone to burn incense for you on the seventh day of your death."
"Sleeping pills are very easy to cure. I'll choose something like paraquat."
"Can't you just die in peace?"
"I'm curious. We didn't know each other, so why did so many people wish for me to die? Is it because my death will make them smile? "The man's voice came and went, and it became even softer.
Even Chen Ge felt like the words were quite malicious. "I don't think you should let them get what they want. The more they wish for you to die, the happier you should be. Smile from ear to ear and piss them off!"
The man on the other end of the phone chuckled. "You're such an interesting person. I was troubled for a period of time, but after talking to my father, I realized that he didn't care about my illness, and he didn't care about me dragging him down. As long as I was alive, he would be there for me.
"At the time, I was twenty-two. My father's words gave me the biggest encouragement. I was not a useless person, and I could do it.
"I cooperated with the treatment, and three months later, I was discharged from the hospital.
"My father knew about my condition, and he would be very nervous when he saw other people. He purposely helped me find a job that I wouldn't need to see other people — he had me act as a large cartoon character at a children's theme park.
"On the first day of work, the park workers brought me to the warehouse and had me choose one from a bunch of cartoon costumes.
"I fell in love with Doraemon at first glance. It had a big head, and there was a small fan inside. Another reason was that I suffered from Nobita Fat Tiger Syndrome when I was young, so I thought Doraemon would bring Nobita good luck.
"After a simple training, I got the job. Every day, my job was to wear the Doraemon costume and prepare candy and small gifts in the front pocket of my stomach. Then, I would play with the children at the children's theme park.
"I liked this feeling. Seeing the children's smiling faces, I couldn't help but smile.
"Hiding inside the costume gives me a sense of security. Not only am I not afraid, but I also actively interact with the visitors. I feel like this job is tailor-made for me. Doraemon really can bring Big Xiong good luck."
"I did this for a long time. Sometimes, my father would come to visit me. Actually, I knew that. Whenever he sneaked over, I would be extra serious. I didn't want him to think that his son was useless."
The man's voice was shaking. He seemed to be very sleepy, and his speech was slowing down.
"When I was twenty-five, my father came to find me. He was very proud of me. He felt that I had not been defeated by life, and that I had already surpassed many people.
"He believed that I would continue to live bravely, and then he told me that this way, he would be able to work elsewhere without worry. His friend had introduced him to a very good job.
"Initially, I didn't think anything of it. I talked to him every week, but gradually, I realized that his voice was very strange.
"Finally, one day, I took a leave of absence and went to another city. I found the friend that he had mentioned, but the friend said that he did not introduce my father to a job, and my father was not there.
"After I returned to my own city, I searched for a long time before I found him in an old rented apartment.
"The room was filled with the smell of Chinese medicine. My father had lost too much weight. It was not until then that I found out that he had leukemia. I had been fighting it. I did not have the money for treatment, so I looked for folk remedies and concocted some Chinese medicine. Worried that it might affect me, I used the excuse of going out to work.
"In the end, my father still left. I felt so useless. The only thing that kept me going was for my father to enjoy his old age, but I didn't expect that to be the end."
It was a very calm tone, but Chen Ge's heart did not feel good when he heard it.
"I knew what my father was thinking before he left, so I tried my best to live, but I felt like something was missing from my heart. When I was twenty-seven, the children's theme park was about to be closed due to various reasons.
"I tried my best to salvage the situation, but I was just Nobita, not Doraemon.
"Actually, the cartoon costume is very uncomfortable. The summer is very hot, and I have to wear a tight-fitting shirt underneath, or else the clothes will stick to my skin. However, when the day comes that I have to take it off, I realize that I am still reluctant to do so.
"Wearing it, I am Doraemon in the children's eyes, with endless presents and candy in my pocket, but after I take it off, I become that Nobita again.
"I realized that after so many years, I have not improved. I am fighting with myself every day, but I have never really won.
"This year, I am thirty. I don't want to be so tired anymore. I plan to have a good sleep."
The man's voice lowered until it was almost inaudible.
"Hey! Don't sleep yet! "Chen Ge was worried that the man would not wake up after he fell asleep.
The taxi sped down the road in Western Jiujiang. Chen Ge was still some distance away from the place that the man had mentioned.
"Wake up! I'll be there in a minute! "Chen Ge's voice grew louder, but the response from the other side became smaller and smaller.
Slowly, the man appeared to have really fallen asleep.
Chen Ge did not dare to hang up. He urged the driver, and half an hour later, he finally arrived at the place that the man had mentioned.
After getting out of the car, Chen Ge rushed into the stairwell and knocked on the landlord's door.
After a long time, the door was finally opened.
"Hello! I'm looking for a man, around thirty, and he's a bit shy … "
Chen Ge shared all the information that he had gotten from the phone call. He was only halfway through when the woman who opened the door turned pale. "Why are you looking for him?"
"Where is he? He is in a very dangerous situation! "
"Where?" The woman looked at Chen Ge with a strange expression. "The man is already dead. He was wearing a costume that came from who knows where and ran into the closed children's theme park alone. When the police found him, it was already too late."
"When did this happen?" Before the call ended, Chen Ge's phone was already next to his ear.
"A few months ago, I think. The man did not seem to be sociable. He did not have a single friend, and his death was very sudden. He did not even pay the utility bills." The woman took a step back and closed the door.
"Then I'll go to the theme park to take a look." Chen Ge nodded, and when he turned around, he was suddenly reminded of something. "By the way, about the utility bills, why don't you look inside his luggage? You should be able to find them."
"Luggage?" The way the woman looked at Chen Ge became even stranger. "What is your relationship with him?"
"I am his friend." Chen Ge grabbed the phone and rushed out of the stairwell. He ran toward the abandoned children's theme park.
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